Right in Front of You
by sec10
Summary: Troubled teen Sam Walker doesn't know when she starts working at Clothes Over Bros that she'll end up with a lot more than a job. She gets a new friend in Sawyer Scott and a family in Brooke and Julian. AU futurefic. Leyton   Sawyer. Brulian   Sam. R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone. This is the first story I've written for fanfiction. I just created an account, but I've been reading stories here for awhile. I loved Brooke and Sam's relationship and I'm interested in Peyton and Sawyer's relationship. This story is an AU futurefic after Season 5. I'll use some of the plot from Season 6 and 7. Peyton had Sawyer when she was 23, or in Season 6, and now Sawyer is sixteen. Sam is the same age as Sawyer. While in foster care, she starts working at Clothes Over Bros. Brooke and Julian can't have children. This fic will mainly be Leyton and Sawyer as a family and Brulian and Sam as a family. There will also be a little Naley. Please review. I'll continue if people like this story. Feel free to give me ideas or suggestions :) **

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Samantha Walker walks into Clothes Over Bros. She sets her backpack and skateboard down on the floor in the stockroom and then finds Brooke helping a customer on the sales floor.

"Hey," Sam says, making her presence known and waiting for Brooke to delegate a task.

"Hey. Can you handle the customers? I have to work on the sketches for my new line."

"Yeah, sure."

Brooke hesitates. It's Sam's first week and Brooke doesn't know if she should leave her alone on the sales floor. "I'll be in the back if you need anything."

Brooke sits down at her desk in the back office and stares at a blank sheet of paper. She hasn't been feeling very inspired, but she has a meeting scheduled with the buyers from Macy's to present her new and, as of now, unfinished line on Friday.

Sam can't believe Brooke left her alone on the sales floor. It would be too easy to steal. She has her pick of the Clothes Over Bros merchandise. For some reason, she doesn't want to betray Brooke's trust. She's never cared before. But, instead of stealing, she cleans out the dressing rooms and hangs the merchandise up where it belongs. When she's done and there aren't any customers, she sits down on the purple couch to listen to her iPod.

Sawyer Scott walks into Clothes Over Bros and sees Sam sitting on the couch listening to her iPod.

"Working hard or hardly working?" Sawyer says sarcastically, plopping down on the couch beside Sam.

Sam takes an earbud out and looks at Sawyer warily. They're both sophomores at Tree Hill High, but they don't know each other. Sawyer is a cheerleader and her boyfriend is a basketball player. Sam is a loner. She's been in so many schools in her sixteen years that she can't remember all the names. She knows not to make friends. It only makes it harder when she's shuffled to a new foster home and a new school. She's surprised that the popular cheerleader is talking to her.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

Sawyer can hear the song playing from the earbud Sam's holding in mid-air. She ignores the question. "Is that The Weepies new song?"

Sam nods in affirmation. "Same Changes. _You_ like The Weepies?"

Sawyer is offended at the surprise and contempt in Sam's voice. "Yeah, I do," she says defensively.

"Sorry. It's just…you're a cheerleader." Sam's voice is dripping with disdain.

"So you think I'm a brainless slut with bad taste in music?"

Sam blushes because that's exactly what she thought. "Sorry."

Sawyer laughs. "It's okay. I'm only a cheerleader because my mom was. I know it's stupid. I may dance to Britney Spears, but I don't have that crap on my iPod. I'm into punk. My mom owns a record label."

"That's pretty cool," Sam admits begrudgingly.

"Yeah, she's great. Is Brooke here?" Sawyer asks.

"She's in the back. Can I help you?" Sam offers.

But, Sawyer is already heading back to find Brooke. "No, thanks. I'll go find her."

Brooke looks up from her sketch and smiles when she sees Sawyer. "Hey."

"Hey, Aunt Brooke," Sawyer says. She hugs Brooke and looks at the half-finished design Brooke is working on. "What's this?"

"It's for my new line of formal dresses," Brooke replies.

"Can you make me one?" Sawyer asks.

"What's the occasion?"

"Winter Formal."

"Who are you going with?"

Sawyer blushes and looks down. She hasn't told her family that Eric Willis is her boyfriend. Her dad and her Uncle Nathan are his coaches and he's not exactly their favorite player. He has a bad attitude and they've had to bench him for drinking. "I don't know yet. I'm just planning ahead. I wanted to give you enough notice to make something fabulous."

When Brooke and Sawyer walk out to the sales floor, Sam is ringing a customer up. Sam looks up, wondering if Brooke is mad that she let Sawyer go back to the stockroom.

"Sam, this is my favorite niece, Sawyer," Brooke says, introducing them. Now Sam knows why Sawyer sauntered back like she owned the place.

"I'm your only niece," Sawyer points out. "And I know Sam."

"Of course. You're in the same class," Brooke realizes.

"Yeah, Sam's new," Sawyer says.

"You're new?" Brooke asks. She hasn't gotten to know Sam yet. A week ago Sam saw Brooke's "Help Wanted" sign in the window and came in. Brooke interviewed her on the spot. Sam was sarcastic, disrespectful, fearless. Brooke liked her spunk and asked when she could start.

Sam wishes Sawyer hadn't said that. The less anyone knows about her, the better. "Yeah."

Brooke is surprised by Sam's short answer. Sam usually talks her ear off. "Where did you move from?" Brooke asks.

"Charlotte," Sam replies.

"My uncle used to play for the Bobcats," Sawyer says.

"Nathan Scott," Sam deduces, putting two and two together. "So, your dad must be Lucas Scott?"

Sawyer nods. "Do you know him?"

"Nah. But, I'm a fan. I knew _An Unkindness of Ravens_ was set in Tree Hill, so I read it before I moved here. It's good," Sam explains.

"You have good taste in music and books," Sawyer acknowledges.

Brooke decides to let them get acquainted. If Sam's new in town, she probably doesn't know anyone. "Sam, I'm gonna go get some coffee. Can you hold down the fort?"

"Yeah," Sam replies. Again, she's surprised how trusting Brooke is of her when she's a complete stranger. It's naïve. Sam could empty the cash register and get out of there. With Brooke's trust, Sam feels a sense of responsibility. She doesn't want to let Brooke down.

Sawyer waits until the door shuts behind Brooke. "My boyfriend is having a party at his parents' beach house tonight. You should come."

"I don't know," Sam says reluctantly.

"You can't stay home and read on a Friday night," Sawyer teases.

"I don't have anything to wear," Sam says as Brooke returns with a latte.

"It just so happens I have a store full of clothes. What do you need?" Brooke says.

Sam blushes. Not having anything to wear was just an excuse. She doesn't want to go to the party. As a rule, she doesn't like rich kids like Sawyer. She's too jealous of them to see that they're not all bad. She also can't afford anything in Clothes Over Bros. Even the t-shirts are out of her price range.

When Sam remains silent, Sawyer speaks up. "I'm taking Sam to a party tonight. She needs a dress. Something casual."

Brooke pulls a red dress and holds it up to Sam. "Red is really your color."

"Thanks, but that dress costs more than all my clothes combined," Sam says.

"You can borrow it," Brooke offers.

Sam stares at Brooke. Brooke's smile is sincere. She's waiting for Sam to take the dress from her. She wants Sam to take it. But, everything comes with strings attached. "What's the catch?"

"There's no catch. Just bring it when you come in tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"If you need a ride, you can go with me. Just give me your address," Sawyer offers.

But, Sam can't give Sawyer her address. She made up an address on the paperwork she filled out for Brooke. She's been sleeping in a car in shop class. "I don't need a ride."

"Do you have a car? You can't walk," Sawyer says.

Panicked, Sam tries to come up with a lie off the top of her head. She feels Sawyer and Brooke's eyes on her, both waiting for her answer. "I'm going to dinner with my parents at the diner off of Madison and Ohio. Can you pick me up there?"

"Okay. See you later."

* * *

Peyton and Sawyer are in Sawyer's room. Peyton likes to do all the mother-daughter things with Sawyer that she never got to do with her mom.

Sawyer holds up two tops, a black beaded tank and a white lace top. "What should I wear?"

"Where are you going?" Peyton asks.

"A party at one of the basketball player's beach houses," Sawyer replies.

"The white one," Peyton says, pointing to the top in Sawyer's right hand. "Will this basketball player's parents be there?"

Sawyer rolls her eyes. "How many of your high school parties had parental supervision?" She asks.

Peyton laughs as she remembers her high school parties. "Okay. No drinking. Curfew is 12:00. If you're going to be late, I want a call."

"I know."

* * *

Lucas comes in from a friendly game at the river court with Nathan, Skillz and Fergie. Peyton puts the dinner plate she saved him in the microwave.

"Hey. How was the game?" Peyton asks.

"Okay. Skillz and I won," Lucas replies.

"You beat Nathan?" Peyton asks, impressed.

"You don't have to sound so surprised," Lucas says sarcastically.

"He did play in the NBA. If it was a writing contest, my money would be on you," Peyton says.

"Where's Sawyer?" Lucas asks.

"A party at a basketball player's house," Peyton replies.

Lucas tries to remember if he heard any of the players mention a party at practice. "Which one?"

"She didn't say."

Lucas frowns. "I hope it's not Eric Willis. He reminds me of Nathan."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It was until junior year."

Peyton looks offended. "Lucas, he was my boyfriend."

"I know. More reason not to like him." Lucas smirks.

* * *

When Julian gets home, he sees Brooke sketching on the couch.

"What are you working on?" Julian asks, looking over Brooke's shoulder at her sketchpad.

"Sawyer needs a dress for Winter Formal," Brooke explains.

"And she asked her beautiful and talented aunt," Julian says.

Brooke smiles. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

"The only place I want to be is right here with you," Julian says. He watches Brooke work and notices that she's looking wistfully at the dress she's sketching. "Does it make you a little sad that you're designing a dress for Sawyer instead of our child?"

"Is that bad?" Brooke asks.

"No. I know exactly how you feel," Julian says. He drapes his arm around Brooke's shoulders and she leans into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's been a year. Do you want to try in vitro fertilization again?"

"I don't know. I want a baby. But, I don't want to lose another child. I can't," Brooke admits.

"You make me so happy, Brooke Davis. If we can't have a child, I'll be happy as long as I have you. But, I want to make you happy. If you want a child, we'll do whatever we need to do. Whether that means adoption. Or kidnapping."

Brooke finally cracks a smile. "I love you, husband."

* * *

At 8:30 pm, Sawyer picks Sam up from the diner. Sawyer's iPod is plugged in and her music is blaring through the speakers. Sam starts scrolling through the songs. She's impressed with Sawyer's epic music collection.

"You have the new Plain White T's album. It's not even out yet!" Sam says.

Sawyer laughs. "It's not what you know. It's who you know."

They talk about music for most of the car ride. Sawyer parks on the street in front of Eric's beach house. The house is easily double the size of Sam's last foster home and it's just a beach house.

Sawyer introduces Sam to Eric and Eric's best friend, Jeff.

"Can I get you a drink?" Jeff offers.

"Yeah," Sam replies.

Jeff refills his own cup and fills one for Sam.

"Thanks," Sam says gratefully, accepting the cup and taking a drink.

"Want to play beer pong?" Eric asks.

They decide to play girls against boys. Eric and Jeff win easily. Sawyer and Sam are buzzed by the time they the first game is over. Sam doesn't notice that every time the ball lands in the red plastic cups, beer splashes over the rim and gets on her dress.

"That's not fair. You're on the basketball team. We should get a handicap," Sawyer says, pouting.

"Okay, how about us against Jeff and Sam this time?" Eric suggests.

Sam goes first and the ball lands in a cup. It's the first time she's come anywhere near a cup. Jeff holds up his palm for a high five and then gives Sam a congratulatory hug. They're both smiling when they win.

Eric and Jeff start setting the table up for another game, but Sawyer stops them. "I'm done. I have to drive home in two hours."

"You can stay," Eric offers.

"Yeah, my parents would love that," Sawyer says sarcastically. She looks at Sam. "What time's your curfew?"

"I don't have a curfew," Sam replies.

"Lucky," Sawyer says enviously.

Sam wants to say not really, but she doesn't. She just smirks.

Sawyer drinks water, trying to sober up before midnight. If she's late, she'll be grounded. She and Sam leave with fifteen minutes to spare.

Sawyer digs around in her purse for a pack of mint gum and pops a piece into her mouth before offering it to Sam. "Gum?"

"No, thanks," Sam replies.

"Your parents will smell the alcohol on your breath," Sawyer warns.

Sam doesn't have parents to smell the alcohol on her breath. But, she's not drunk enough to confess her deepest, darkest secrets. Instead, she takes a piece of gum. "Thanks."

"Where do you live?" Sawyer asks as they enter Tree Hill.

"I can walk. I don't want to make you late for curfew." Sam tries to keep her tone light and act nonchalant, but she doesn't know how much longer she can keep this up. Sawyer will eventually get suspicious.

Sam walks to Tree Hill High. She tries the door, but it's locked. She can't get to the car she's been crashing in. She can't get to the locker room she's been showering in. So, she goes to the diner. It's open all night.

A few truckers are drinking coffee before they get back on the road. They leer at Sam when she walks in. She gets a cup of coffee and sits down at her usual booth. She keeps her eyes down and hopes no one will bother her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

After a sleepless night in the diner, Sam goes into the restroom to try to clean up before work. She doesn't have many possessions to her name. Most of what she has she stole. None of her foster parents gave her anything. Not an allowance, pocket money, or even birthday or Christmas gifts. What she does have is in the black backpack she takes everywhere.

Sam pulls a toiletry bag out and brushes her teeth. She still smells like alcohol even after she changes into clean clothes. It's almost as if the beer seeped into her pores. She needs a shower, but she's not going to get one until the school reopens on Monday.

The first thing Sam does when she walks into Clothes Over Bros is spray herself with the tester perfume sitting out on the counter, hoping to cover up the smell of alcohol.

Brooke comes out from the stockroom, carrying two boxes. It looks like she's about to drop them, so Sam hurries over and takes one of them from her.

"Thanks, Sam. Did you have fun with Sawyer last night?" Brooke asks.

"Yeah, she's cool," Sam replies.

"I kind of like her," Brooke jokes. "Do you have the dress? I need to sensor it and price it."

"Yeah, here." Sam takes the dress out of her backpack and gives it to Brooke. "It was really nice of you to let me borrow it." She smiles gratefully.

Brooke can smell the alcohol on the dress. She holds it up and notices a beer stain. She frowns as she looks at Sam. "Sam, did you drink last night?"

Sam isn't stupid. She knows she's been caught red-handed. Lying will make it worse. Maybe if she's honest, Brooke will accept her apology. She nods in affirmation. "I'm sorry about the dress. I didn't mean to."

Hands on her hips, Brooke glares at Sam. "First of all, you are sixteen years old. Second, you ruined the dress. Did you corrupt my niece?"

"No, Sawyer didn't drink," Sam says quickly. She doesn't want Sawyer to go down with her.

Brooke stares at Sam, raising her brow, as she tries to figure out if Sam is telling the truth or not.

"Really. Sawyer drove," Sam says convincingly. She picks up her backpack and takes a few steps toward the door. She looks back at Brooke one last time. "I really am sorry about the dress."

"Where do you think you're going?" Brooke asks sternly.

Sam stares at Brooke, her eyes wide. "You're not firing me?"

"No, I'm not making it that easy on you. You're going to work for free until you've made enough money to pay me back for the dress you ruined," Brooke says.

Sam nods in acceptance of the pseudo-punishment. The free labor is going to cost her. Most teenagers get part-time jobs to pay for luxuries. Cars, prom dresses, expensive cosmetics. Sam got a job because she needed the money. Without her paycheck, she wouldn't eat. But, she knows Brooke is being fair. Sam doesn't have to show up for work on Monday. She could leave Brooke hanging, but she figures she owes her for the dress.

* * *

Sawyer's cell phone alert for a text message wakes her up. She groggily reaches for her phone and flips it open.

_Sam_

_Brooke knows I was drinking last night but I said u weren't. Sorry. Hope u don't get in trouble._

Sawyer deletes the message in case her parents take her phone away. She knows Brooke will tell her mom.

Peyton and Lucas are sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast when Sawyer joins them. Brooke has already called, so they both look at Sawyer to see if she looks hungover. She doesn't. She didn't drink that much since she had to drive home.

"I'll make you some breakfast," Peyton offers. She gets up and starts making Sawyer's favorite, pancakes.

"Thanks, Mom," Sawyer says uncertainly, trying to figure out if Brooke has talked to her parents yet. They don't seem mad, so either they believe Sam or Brooke hasn't called yet.

"Whose party did you go to last night?" Lucas asks.

Sawyer sighs. She knows her dad won't like the answer, but she can't lie. He'll probably hear basketball players talking about the party at practice on Monday. "Eric Willis."

"Sawyer, he's a jerk. I can't believe you're friends with him," Lucas says.

"Dad, I'm friends with all of the basketball players. I'm a cheerleader. It's not like he was the only one at the party," Sawyer says sarcastically, hoping her dad drops it.

Peyton sets a plate down in front of Sawyer. "Brooke called. Apparently your new friend was drinking and spilled beer on Brooke's dress." Peyton smirks at her daughter, raising her brow.

"She may have had a beer or two," Sawyer says.

"Please tell me you weren't drinking," Lucas says.

"I wasn't," Sawyer says quickly.

* * *

After Sawyer gets in the shower, Peyton looks at Lucas. "Do you think she's telling the truth?"

"I don't know. I hope so," Lucas replies.

"I know she's going to go to parties and drink. I just don't want her to do anything stupid like drinking and driving or letting someone she doesn't know get her a drink," Peyton says.

"Remember when Brooke took you to that party at Duke and that jerk drugged your drink?" Lucas asks, remembering how scared he was.

"I was lucky that Brooke stopped him before anything happened," Peyton says.

"Luck had nothing to with it. Brooke's a good friend."

"The best."

* * *

Julian looks up from the script he's reading and smiles when Brooke gets home. "Hey, wife. How was your day?"

"Sam, that teenage girl I hired to help me in the store, borrowed a dress from me and ruined it," Brooke says. She still can't believe Sam. She was trying to be nice and that's how Sam repays her.

"I'm sorry," Julian says sympathetically. He looks at Brooke. "So did you fire her?"

"No. I went easy on her. I told her she has to work for free until she makes enough to pay me back for the dress. Do you think I should have fired her?"

"I think it was nice of you to give her a second chance."

Brooke smiles at Julian's answer.

* * *

Sawyer is sitting on her bed reading when Eric calls her. She smiles as she answers the phone. "Hey."

"Hey. Last night was fun. How are you feeling?" Eric says.

"I am not hungover," Sawyer says proudly. "Are you?"

"Yeah. I was worthless until 2:00 this afternoon," Eric says, laughing.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer says sympathetically.

"I'm going to the river court with the guys. You should come. Hang out," Eric says.

"Okay," Sawyer agrees.

"Jeff likes Sam. You should see if she wants to come"

* * *

When Sam gets off work, she doesn't know where to go. She can't get into the school. She knows she'll wind up at the diner again because it's the only place in Tree Hill that's open all night, but she doesn't want to overstay her welcome, so she walks to the park. She sits down on a park bench and pulls a worn paperback novel out of her backpack.

Sam's been reading for about an hour when Sawyer texts her.

_Sawyer_

_Hey everyone's going to the river court tonight. U should come_

Sam doesn't have anything else to do, so she decides to go. By the time everyone else has to go home, it'll probably be safe to go to the diner.

_Sam_

_K sounds good._

_Sawyer_

_U need a ride? I can pick u up._

_Sam_

_No thanks._

* * *

Brooke looks at her reflection in the mirror. She's wearing a black dress and black stilettos. She tries to put a silver necklace on, but fumbles with the clasp. Julian appears behind her. "Here. Let me." His fingers brush against the back of her neck as he fastens the clasp.

Brooke can feel Julian's warm breath on her skin. She turns around and kisses him.

"Do you want to misbehave one more time before the concert?" Julian asks, flashing his signature grin.

"We can misbehave at the concert like sex-crazed teenagers," Brooke says.

"Yeah, I like that idea," Julian says.

When they get to Tric, they go backstage. Peyton is talking the band's manager and Lucas is sitting on a couch looking at an email on his Blackberry. Nathan and Haley aren't there yet. They sit down next to Lucas.

"Hey, Luke. How you doing?" Julian says.

"Okay," Lucas replies absentmindedly, still looking at his phone.

"Where's my favorite girl?" Brooke asks.

"Sawyer went out with her friends," Lucas replies.

Brooke frowns. "Is one of these friends Sam?"

Lucas sighs, worried about Brooke's reaction. "Yeah. What's she like?" Peyton finishes talking to the band's manager and joins them. She looks at Brooke curiously, wanting to hear the answer as well.

"I don't know. She's only been working for me for a week. I like her, but I don't know if she's a good kid," Brooke says, feeling guilty.

"How not good are we talking about? On a scale of Haley James Scott to Brooke Davis?" Peyton asks.

"I was not that bad," Brooke says defensively.

"Yeah, you were a perfect angel," Peyton says sarcastically.

"Who was a perfect angel?" Haley asks. She and Nathan walked in at the tail end of the conversation.

Peyton rolls her eyes and smirks. "Brooke."

"What? According to who?" Nathan says sarcastically, laughing.

"You're one to talk," Brooke says.

"She's got a point," Haley says.

"You both changed," Lucas says, trying to end the pseudo-argument.

"I like to think Lucas and I had something to do with that," Haley says proudly, smiling.

"You had everything to do with it," Nathan says softly, so only Haley can hear.

* * *

When Sam gets to the river court, she sees most of the people who were at the party. The basketball players are showing off on the court and Sawyer is sitting on the bleachers.

"Hey," Sam says as she joins Sawyer.

"Hey. Was Brooke a bitch?" Sawyer asks, feeling guilty that she took Sam to the party and Sam got in trouble.

"No. She was actually pretty cool," Sam replies, knowing Brooke could have fired her or worse. "I'm sorry I wasn't more stealth. I hope you didn't get in trouble."

"If I was in trouble, I wouldn't be here," Sawyer says, knowing she would have been grounded if her parents knew she was drinking.

After Jeff makes a three-pointer, he flashes a cocky grin at Sam. Sawyer smiles. "I think he likes you."

"I don't think so," Sam says. She doesn't think anyone like Jeff would ever like someone like her. She's homeless, parentless and penniless.

"He totally does. Do you like him?" Sawyer says, smiling.

Sam shrugs and tries to act nonchalant. "He's not bad."

When the boys finish playing, Eric gets a twelve-pack of cheap beer out of his car. Sam and Sawyer join them on the court. Sawyer grabs the can Eric is drinking and takes a sip.

"You want a drink?" Jeff asks Sam.

"Yeah," Sam replies.

Jeff gets an unopened can and hands it to Sam. His fingers brush against hers as she takes it. Sam opens the tab and takes a drink. "Thanks."

"Do you like Tree Hill?" Jeff asks.

"Yeah. Everyone's really nice," Sam says, smiling shyly.

"Do you miss Charlotte?" Jeff asks.

Sam smirks. She didn't tell him where she moved from, so she knows he must have asked. "You've been doing your homework."

Jeff blushes and looks down. "No, I haven't. Tree Hill is a small town. Everyone knows everything about everyone else."

"That's what you think," Sam says, knowing he wouldn't be talking to her if he knew everything about her.

At 11:30, people start leaving so they're not late for curfew. Both Sawyer and Eric offer Sam a ride, but she declines, saying she doesn't live far and she feels like walking.

Sam does walk, but not home. She gets a coffee from the diner and sits down at her usual booth.

* * *

When the concert is over, Brooke and Julian walk out of Tric holding hands. Brooke starts pulling Julian in the opposite direction of their car. "Come on, I'll buy you a hot chocolate."

They walk into the diner. Brooke frowns when she sees Sam sitting in a booth. "Julian, that's Sam."

They slip into the booth, sitting across from Sam. Brooke looks at Sam, raising her eyebrows. "Isn't it a little late to be out alone?"

Sam looks down. "I was just leaving. Like you said, it's late." She takes a few dollars out and places them on the table.

"That was a little weird," Julian says as Sam leaves.

"Yeah," Brooke agrees.

"She must have cool parents if she doesn't have a curfew," Julian says, knowing his mom would never have let him stay out this late when he was sixteen.

Brooke laughs. "Yeah, I never had a curfew either. Trust me, it's not because my parents were cool. It's because they wouldn't have noticed if I never came home."

**

* * *

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, signed up for alerts or favorited! :) I'm glad you like the idea. I'm not going to drag out Brooke finding out that Sam doesn't have a home for too long. Just bear with me for one more chapter.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A week later Sam's down to her last dollar and she knows she won't get a paycheck anytime soon; the dress she ruined was expensive. She hasn't had much to eat, only what she can steal from the grocery store. She's hungry and she's not feeling well.

Sam and Brooke are sitting side-by-side on the floor of Clothes Over Bros folding shirts when the phone rings. Sam and Brooke look at each other, neither of them wanting to get up.

"It's your store," Sam says, raising her brow.

"And you are my employee. Get your skinny ass up and get the phone," Brooke says, smirking.

When Sam stands up, she feels dizzy. She takes a step toward the counter. Brooke's face swims in front of her. Sam faints. Her head hits the counter as she falls backward on the floor.

Sam opens her eyes and realizes she's lying on the floor and Brooke is standing over her.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Brooke asks.

"Yeah," Sam replies.

"I called an ambulance," Brooke says.

"What?" Sam yells, getting up.

Brooke is taken aback by the anger, desperation, fear. "You need a doctor."

"No, that's the last thing I need. That'll just make everything worse," Sam says desperately.

"What are you talking about?" Brooke asks, confused.

Ignoring the question, Sam goes to the stockroom to get her backpack and skateboard. Brooke stalks after her.

"You're not going anywhere. You passed out in my store. You are my employee. I am responsible for you right now," Brooke says, knowing she can't let her teenage employee leave after she fainted. She would be responsible if anything happened. Besides, she's worried and wants to make sure Sam is okay.

"I'm okay!" Sam yells, frustrated.

"Okay, but it can't hurt to let a doctor make sure you're alright."

Sam looks down, tears of desperation in her eyes. "Look, I left a foster home. It wasn't so good. If I go to the hospital, it'll screw everything up for me."

Brooke stares at Sam, shocked. She can't believe a homeless runaway has been working for her and she didn't even know. She doesn't know what to do. "Sam, we'll figure this out. I'll help you."

* * *

Peyton hangs up the phone and looks at Sawyer. "That was Brooke. Sam passed out when she was at work."

"Is she okay?" Sawyer asks, concerned.

"I don't know. She's at the hospital," Peyton replied. She frowns. "Is she doing drugs?"

"What? No!" Sawyer says defensively, offended that her mom could even think she would hang out with a druggie.

"Just checking. Brooke said Sam ran away from her foster home."

"Sawyer, did you know she ran away?" Lucas asks.

Shocked, Sawyer stares at her mom. She's been hanging out with Sam almost every day and Sam never told her. "No. I didn't even know she was in foster care."

"You should go to the hospital. She probably needs a friend right now," Lucas says.

Sawyer gets up and grabs her car keys.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Peyton asks.

"No, I'll be okay," Sawyer replies.

* * *

Julian follows the signs in the hospital until he finds Sam's room. Brooke is standing outside of it. She smiles slightly. "I need you right now."

Julian hugs Brooke, rubbing her back comfortingly. "What happened?"

"Sam passed out. I was so scared. I didn't know if she was going to be okay," Brooke says.

"Did you talk to the doctor? Does he know what's wrong?" Julian asks, concerned.

"Well, she passed out because she hasn't eaten anything today," Brooke replies.

"Do you think she has an eating disorder?" Julian asks, remembering all the actresses and models he's worked with who would do anything to be a size zero.

"No. I think she didn't have anything to eat. She ran away from her foster home. She's been sleeping in a car in shop class," Brooke says, upset.

"Oh, wow," Julian says, shocked.

"She's been working for me for a week and I didn't even know anything was wrong," Brooke says, feeling guilty.

"Brooke, you couldn't have known."

"Yeah, I guess," Brooke says, unconvinced.

"Is there anything we can do to help her?" Julian asks.

"Well, I've been thinking. We wanted to adopt a child. Age doesn't matter. Not to me. I just want to help a child who has no one," Brooke says nervously, not knowing how Julian will feel about adopting a teenager instead of a baby. "Do you want to take her in?"

Julian smiles. "You have a good heart, Brooke Davis. She would be lucky to have you."

"You're going to be a great dad," Brooke says. She's seen how good he is with Sawyer and Jamie.

* * *

As Sawyer walks into the hospital, she calls Brooke and asks where Sam's room is. She finds Brooke and Julian talking in the hallway outside of Sam's room.

"Hey. Sam's in there." Brooke points Sam's room out to Sawyer. "Julian and I are going to go make a phone call. We'll be right back."

Sam is surprised when Sawyer walks into her room. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my friend," Sawyer replies, smiling.

"Brooke didn't tell you about me?" Sam asks, thinking Sawyer wouldn't be talking to her if she knew Sam was in foster care.

"Oh, she told me," Sawyer says sarcastically, smirking. "My only question is why didn't you tell me? I would have been there for you."

"I was scared that you'd tell someone. Child Protective Services has been looking for me," Sam says. She looks down, blushing. "My foster home…it wasn't so good."

"I'm sorry," Sawyer says.

"I gotta get out of here. If I'm here when they show up, I'm gonna get a one-way ticket back to foster care. Will you help me?" Sam says desperately, looking at Sawyer with pleading eyes.

Sawyer hesitates. She doesn't know if helping Sam run away will help her or hurt her in the long run. "I don't know. Where are you gonna go?"

"I can save up money and buy a bus ticket back to Charlotte, get my old job back," Sam replies, knowing there will be too many people in Tree Hill looking for her.

"I can help you with the money." Sawyer pulls two twenty dollar bills out of her wallet and gives them to Sam.

"Thanks," Sam says, pocketing the money. "Can you distract Brooke so I can take off?"

"Brooke and Julian went outside to make a phone call. You should go now before they get back," Sawyer says.

Sawyer hugs Sam goodbye. "Stay in touch."

* * *

Sawyer walks into her house and tries to slip past her parents. She doesn't know if Brooke and Julian have noticed that Sam is missing yet.

"How's Sam?" Peyton asks.

"She's gonna be okay," Sawyer replies.

"That was a fast visit," Peyton observes, looking at the clock on the microwave. Sawyer wasn't even gone an hour.

"Yeah."

"I was just about to leave for the river court. You want to come?" Lucas asks.

"No," Sawyer replies, just wanting to go to her room.

Lucas frowns. "Okay."

"I have a ton of homework," Sawyer says, not wanting to hurt her dad.

* * *

After talking to Social Services, Brooke and Julian walk into Sam's hospital room smiling. Their smiles quickly fade when they see that the room is empty. A confused doctor informs them that Sam was not released. Brooke calls Sawyer since she was the last person to talk to Sam.

Sawyer looks at caller ID and hits ignore. She knows she will eventually have to answer to Brooke, but she wants to delay the inevitable as long as possible.

"Why isn't she answering her phone?" Brooke asks, frustrated.

"She probably doesn't have a signal," Julian says.

"I don't think so," Brooke says quietly.

They go to Lucas and Peyton's house to try to hunt down Sawyer.

"Hey, B. Baker," Peyton says, smiling.

"Hey, P. Scott. Is Sawyer here?" Brooke says.

"She's in her room. Why? What's wrong?" Peyton asks, hearing the concern in Brooke's voice.

"It's Sam. She ran away from the hospital. Sawyer was the last person to talk to her and I just want to know if Sam said anything," Brooke explains.

Peyton leads the way to Sawyer's room. She knocks and opens the door. Sawyer looks up from her textbook and frowns when she sees her mom, Brooke and Julian. She knows she has some explaining to do. But, she tries to act nonchalant. She hopes if she can hold them off long enough, Sam will be able to get out of town. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Honey, Sam ran away from the hospital. Brooke and Julian are looking for her," Peyton says calmly, wanting to see if her daughter offers any information on her own or if they have to drag it out of her.

"I don't think she wants to be found."

"Do you know something?" Peyton asks suspiciously, raising her brow.

"No…but she keeps running away. She doesn't want to be found. I think you should leave her alone."

Brooke stares at Sawyer, shocked. "She's been sleeping in a car. She needs a home."

"If she wants to sleep in a car instead of her foster home, her home had to be pretty fucking bad. Did you ever think of that?" Sawyer demands, feeling bad for Sam and starting to understand why Sam doesn't tell anyone anything.

"Sawyer Brooke Scott! Do not talk to Brooke like that!" Peyton yells angrily.

"Of course I thought about that. We want to help her, but we have to find her first. If you know something, you have to tell us," Brooke says desperately, her eyes pleading with Sawyer.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Fine. You're grounded," Peyton says. Wordlessly she holds out her hand, waiting for Sawyer's cell phone.

"Are you serious? This is so unfair!" Sawyer yells.

"If you complain, you're grounded for another week," Peyton says, raising her brow.

After Sawyer places her phone in Peyton's waiting palm, Peyton, Brooke and Julian go back into the kitchen, shutting Sawyer's bedroom door behind them. Brooke frowns. "Peyton, I know she knows something."

"I know, Brooke, but we can't make her talk," Peyton says. She starts looking through Sawyer's text messages to see if there are any from Sam.

Julian smirks. "That's an invasion of privacy."

"She's not going to get privacy if she's living under our roof," Peyton says. She finishes going through the phone and frowns. "She doesn't have any new texts from Sam."

"I have an idea," Julian says. Brooke and Peyton look at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. "What if we text Sam from Sawyer's phone? She's not gonna tell us where is, but she'll probably tell Sawyer."

"Pretty and a genius. I hit the jackpot with you," Brooke says proudly, smiling.

Peyton sends the text message from Sawyer's phone and they all stare at it, waiting anxiously for Sam's response.

_Sawyer_

_Hey where r u?_

_Sam_

_At the mall. Got a bus ticket but the bus doesn't leave until tom. Thanks for the $_

Peyton reads Sam's response aloud, frowning. "She lied to my face."

"Honey, she was just trying to be a good friend to Sam," Brooke says.

"We should go," Julian says.

* * *

Brooke and Julian walk into the mall, not knowing where to start looking for Sam.

"She's a teenage girl. She's probably shopping for clothes," Brooke says.

Julian laughs. "Brooke, she doesn't have money for clothes. She doesn't even have a closet."

"Well, where do you think she would go?" Brooke asks.

"If she hasn't had anything to eat, she's probably hungry. Let's look in the food court," Julian says.

When they walk into the food court, Brooke sees Sam sitting at a table eating a cinnamon sugar covered pretzel. "Julian," Brooke says, pointing to the table.

They hurry over to the table. Brooke sits down across from Sam. Julian stands just to the side of Sam in case she tries to make a break for it.

Sam stares at them, shocked. She went to Tree Hill Mall knowing it would be crowded. She didn't think anyone would be able to pick her out in the crowd. "Fuck."

"It's nice to see you, too," Brooke says sarcastically.

"Did Sawyer rat me out?" Sam asks.

Julian smirks. "No, you gave yourself up."

Sam frowns. She only told one person that she was at the mall. "You texted me from Sawyer's phone?"

Julian nods, smirking cockily. "We had to find you."

"Sam, we want you to move in with us," Brooke says without hesitation. She looks at Sam. "If you want to?"

Sam looks at them, wondering if they're serious. Slowly she smiles. "Okay."

* * *

When Lucas gets home from the river court, Peyton fills him in on what he missed. They walk into Sawyer's room to talk to her. She's listening to her iPod. She takes one earbud out of her ear. "What do you want?"

"Sawyer," Lucas warns.

"We want you to talk to us. Brooke and Julian found Sam even though you wouldn't help us. You knew she was going to Charlotte. You gave her money to buy a bus ticket. You lied," Peyton says angrily.

Sawyer frowns. "So what's going to happen now? Does Sam have to go back to the foster home she ran away from?"

"Sam's going to stay with Brooke and Julian," Lucas replies.

"That's great," Sawyer says, smiling.

"Brooke and Julian talked with Social Services before Sam ran away. We were always going to help her. You should have trusted us," Peyton says.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer says, feeling guilty.

"I know you are. And I know you were only trying to be a good friend to Sam. But you don't have to protect her from us. We're not the bad guys," Peyton says.

"Am I still grounded?" Sawyer asks.

"Yeah, but not because you were being a good friend to Sam. You can't talk to Brooke like that. We raised you to treat us with respect," Lucas replies.

* * *

Julian holds open the door to their guest room. Brooke walks in and flips the lights on. "This is your room."

Sam takes a step into the room and looks around. "I've never had my own room before." She smiles.

As they leave Sam to unpack, Brooke looks back at her, raising her brow. "No boys."

Julian laughs as Brooke shuts the door behind her. "You sound like a mom."

"I am being a mom," Brooke says.

"Does it make you happy?" Julian asks.

"So happy," Brooke replies.

"Yeah, me too," Julian murmurs. He kisses Brooke softly. "You are a MILF."

Brooke looks at Julian, raising her brow. "American Pie?"

Julian shrugs and kisses her again.

**

* * *

A/N: Thanks again for reviewing! :) It helps me to know what you like and/or don't like. If you want to see more of anything or anyone, let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews! This chapter is short and Sam-centric. It's setting things up for the next chapter. Don't worry…there's drama coming up for Sawyer in the next chapter. **

**

* * *

Chapter 4**

Brooke smiles proudly as she sets a plate of pancakes down on the breakfast bar. "Sam, breakfast!"

Brooke waits impatiently, staring at the door to Sam's room, her brow raised. When she gets tired of waiting, she knocks and opens the door. Sam is laying in the bed, the sheets tangled from tossing and turning.

"Sam," Brooke says. She looks at Sam for a minute before awkwardly touching the teenager's shoulder to wake her up.

Sam wakes up with a start, scared, until she sees that it's just Brooke. She smiles slowly.

"Breakfast. I made pancakes. Come on, get up," Brooke says.

Sam sits down at the place Brooke set for her and takes a bite of the pancakes. Julian laughs at the face Sam makes. "Brooke is a woman of many talents, but cooking is not one of them," Julian says.

"If you'd rather go hungry than eat my cooking…oh, wait, you already did that," Brooke says sarcastically.

"I don't see you eating any pancakes." Sam smirks.

"Fine," Brooke says as she gets herself a plate. She takes a bite and it's obvious that she has to force herself to swallow it. "Okay, they're not very good, but it's the thought that counts."

"Well, I _think_ I'm going to be sick," Sam says sarcastically.

Wordlessly Brooke takes a cereal box and a bowl out of the kitchen cabinet and sets them in front of Sam. After Sam eats a bowl of cereal, she gets ready for school. She takes a longer shower than she usually would, almost twenty minutes, enjoying having the bathroom to herself instead of using the shower in the girl's locker room at school. She puts black leggings and a long black graphic tee with a red rose on it on. She usually lets her brown hair dry naturally because it's naturally straight, but today she takes the time to blow it dry. Finally, she puts black eyeliner and mascara on.

* * *

Peyton can hear Sawyer's alarm clock from the kitchen. After about ten minutes of listening to the most obnoxious loud beeping sound incessantly, she goes into Sawyer's room. Sawyer is laying facedown in her bed, hidden underneath her comforter and completely oblivious to the alarm. Peyton laughs as she turns the alarm off. "Sawyer, you're gonna be late for school."

"I have an alarm clock, you know," Sawyer mumbles sleepily.

"I know. Me," Peyton says, slapping Sawyer's butt.

Sawyer rolls over and looks at the alarm clock. She realizes her alarm went off almost fifteen minutes ago. "I can't believe I slept through my alarm. I turned the volume up as loud as it will go."

"I know. Everyone but you heard it." Peyton smirks. Sawyer could probably sleep through a hurricane. She would never make it to school on time if they left her to her own devices.

Sawyer gets up and gets ready. She doesn't have time to take a shower, so she pulls her dirty blonde curls back into a messy ponytail. She puts her favorite dark wash skinny jeans on and then chooses a Dashboard Confessional t-shirt from her dresser. She swipes her eyelashes with mascara and then hurries downstairs.

Lucas glances at his watch. "Sawyer, why don't you get breakfast to go, huh? Every time you're late for homeroom, Mrs. Martins finds me at practice to tell me. It makes me feel like I'm still in high school."

Sawyer laughs. "It's so weird that you had her and now I have her."

"I'm not _that_ old. Most of our teachers are still there," Lucas says.

"You're just lucky they liked us. Sam's not so lucky. Brooke ditched more classes than she went to," Peyton says, smirking.

"Don't tell Sam that," Lucas warns Sawyer.

* * *

When Sawyer gets to school, she finds Sam at her locker. "Hey. You're staying with Brooke and Julian. That's pretty great." Sawyer smiles.

"Yeah," Sam says.

"That makes us cousins," Sawyer says, smirking slightly.

"That's not actually how it works," Sam says, knowing there's a big difference between being a foster kid and a full-fledged family member. She doesn't want to talk about it, so she quickly changes the subject. "So where are we drinking tonight? The river court? Someone's beach house?"

"_We_ are not drinking anywhere. I'm grounded and I'm pretty sure Brooke and Julian aren't gonna let you go out on a school night," Sawyer replies.

"You don't get it. Foster parents don't care what I do. Brooke and Julian won't care if I go out. That's not part of the deal," Sam says, trying to act nonchalant. "Why are you grounded?"

"My mom and Brooke didn't like my answers when they were giving me the third degree," Sawyer replies.

Sam frowns. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

"It's okay. I think if I'm on my best behavior all week, they'll let me go out this weekend." Sawyer smiles.

* * *

After school, Sam walks into Clothes Over Bros. Brooke is on the phone. Sam leans against the counter casually and waits.

"No, Victoria, Clothes Over Bros is my company and I am not going to fire Millicent," Brooke says firmly.

"Brooke, you're following your heart, not your head. This is business. Your _assistant_ is a coke whore. Now are you going to fire her or do I need to come down there and take care of it?" Victoria snaps.

"No, my assistant is getting help. And she's _my_ assistant! Don't come down here," Brooke says angrily. She'd rather have a root canal than have her mother come to Tree Hill.

"Brooke Penelope Davis, you fire her or I will," Victoria says sternly.

"You cannot fire my assistant. If you come down here, I'm going to fire someone, but it's not going to be Millicent," Brooke says, but she hears the dial tone and knows Victoria already hung up. Frustrated, she slams the phone down. "Unbelievable!"

"What did that person do to piss you off? I ruined your dress and you didn't fire me," Sam says, amused.

"Yeah, well, I like you. That was my mother and I can't say the same for her," Brooke mutters.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Sam jokes. "What do you want me to do?"

Brooke looks at Sam. "Sam, do you want to work here?"

Confused, Sam nods.

"Really? Why?" Brooke asks skeptically, raising her brow.

"I don't know," Sam mumbles, not knowing what to say. Brooke looks at her quizzically, waiting for her to answer. She decides to tell the truth. "I need the money."

"For what?"

"I don't know. Things. Food, clothes…basic necessities."

Brooke sighs, feeling sad that Sam has had to work for things she took for granted when she was sixteen. "I don't think you should have to pay for that. Julian and I will give you anything you need. Wouldn't you rather cheerlead or play basketball or hang out with your friends after school than work?"

"No," Sam replies, knowing living with Brooke and Julian probably won't last. Even if she doesn't need the money right now, she can save it for when she does. She flashes her signature smirk to try to lighten the mood. "Besides, I figure I still owe you for that dress."

"Okay, but I don't think you should work as much as you have been," Brooke says, impressed that Sam wants to pay her for the dress even though she doesn't have to.

* * *

After cheerleading practice, Sawyer walks out to her car and sees Eric sitting on the hood of her car, waiting for her. He kisses her, but she pushes him away. "Eric, what are you doing? My dad could see us!"

"Your dad already left," Eric says.

Sawyer smiles. "Well, in that case…" She leans in and kisses Eric. He grabs her butt and lifts her up, so she's straddling him on top of the hood of her car. They're making out heavily when a car full of basketball players drives by slowly. When the driver honks, Sawyer and Eric break apart. Sawyer blushes furiously. Eric grins cockily at his friends.

"We can go back to my place. My dad has dinner with clients tonight," Eric says.

"I can't. I'm grounded," Sawyer says.

Disappointed, Eric frowns.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer says, feeling bad because they always hang out after practice. Eric's dad works all the time and he hates being alone.

* * *

Jeff sees Sam walking home from work and pulls over. "Hey, Sam. You want a ride?" He smiles.

"Thanks," Sam says as she climbs into the passenger seat.

"I could take you home. Or we could hang out," Jeff says, smiling hopefully.

"Anything to avoid Economics homework," Sam says.

"I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted."

Sam laughs. "Where are we going?"

"Do you like pizza?"

Sam nods.

* * *

Brooke stops to get Chinese food on her way home. When she gets home, Julian is poring over scripts. She doesn't see Sam. "Hey, husband. Where's Sam?"

Julian frowns. "I haven't seen Sam all day."

"What? Julian! She left the store over an hour ago," Brooke says, worried.

"Have you called her?" Julian asks.

Brooke sets the food down on the kitchen counter and calls Sam's cell phone. "She's not answering. Where would she go? I don't even know where to look. She was gonna run away to Charlotte. What if she's on a bus?"

"Or maybe she's just hanging out with her friends and didn't think she needed to tell us. She hasn't had parents who worry about her if she doesn't come home. I don't think she would run away. She likes you, Brooke."

* * *

Jeff and Sam are sitting in a booth at the pizza parlor sharing a pizza.

"This is the best pizza in Tree Hill," Jeff says.

Sam raises her brow. "How many pizza places are there in Tree Hill?"

"Counting this one? Two," Jeff replies, laughing. "I know…Tree Hill's small. Do you miss Charlotte?"

"No. Not really," Sam says.

Jeff looks at Sam quizzically, raising his brow.

"I only lived in Charlotte for about a year. I move a lot," Sam explains.

"Army brat?"

Sam shakes her head.

"On the run from the law?" Jeff jokes.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," Sam says, smirking.

* * *

When Sawyer gets home, she changes out of the white t-shirt and cheerleading shorts she wore to practice and joins her parents in the kitchen. Lucas is sitting at the table studying plays for the game on Friday and Peyton is cooking.

"How was practice?" Lucas asks.

"Cheery," Sawyer replies, rolling her eyes.

"You are definitely our daughter," Peyton says, laughing.

Sawyer sees Peyton making a salad and starts chopping a cucumber for the salad. They like to cook together. Peyton always cooked for her dad when he was home. She had to teach herself how to cook.

After dinner, Sawyer is sitting at her desk checking her email when a G Chat window pops up.

_Eric Willis_

_I miss you_

Sawyer smiles. She strips down, so she's only wearing her bra and panties and takes a picture of herself. After she emails the picture to Eric, she responds.

_Sawyer Scott_

_Check your email. It should tide you over ;)_

* * *

Jeff drives Sam home after dinner. He kisses her softly and she deepens the kiss. He kisses her neck. When he lifts her shirt up over her head, he stares, shocked, at identical bruises on her shoulders in the clear shape of a handprint. "Who did that to you?"

Sam's mind had been on Jeff, so she didn't even think about the bruises until he asked about them. "No one," Sam says, blushing.

Jeff rolls his eyes at the obvious lie. "Okay, Sam, someone hurt you. You can tell me who it is."

"It's none of your business, okay?" Sam snaps, embarrassed. She turns away from him and puts her shirt on. Upset, she gets out of the car.

"Sam, wait," Jeff calls, but she practically runs to the front door.

Sam just wants to go to her room. But, when she walks in, Brooke and Julian are waiting for her.

"You didn't come home after work," Brooke says.

"So what?" Sam says defensively.

"Sam, we were worried about you," Brooke says slowly, staring at Sam.

Sam looks down, not knowing what to say.

"We're not mad. We just need to know where you are," Julian says.

"Okay," Sam says.

"Where were you?" Brooke asks curiously, having noticed the tears in Sam's eyes when she came in.

"I grabbed some dinner with a friend. I figured it was either that or eat your cooking and I'm not about to do that again." Sam smirks.

"Does this friend have a name?" Brooke asks, wanting to know who could have upset Sam.

"Jeff. Jeff Mock," Sam replies.

Brooke frowns when she realizes the friend is a boy. "Do you like him?"

"Yeah," Sam replies. "I'm really tired. I'm gonna go to bed now." Sam makes an excuse to leave and waits a few seconds. When there are no objections, she goes to her room and lays down on her bed, just wanting to be alone.

After Sam's door shuts behind her, Brooke looks at Julian. "Do you think anything happened with Jeff?"

"Brooke, she's sixteen," Julian points out.

"Like that matters! When I was sixteen, I was having sex," Brooke reminds him, cringing at the memories of what she was like in high school.

"I wasn't," Julian says quietly.

"Yeah, well, Sam's not a mathlete," Brooke mutters.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Just warning you now that this is a really long chapter. Jamie is in this chapter. I didn't change the age difference between him and Sawyer. The only character's age I changed is Sam. So, Jamie is 5 years older than Sawyer and Sam.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

It's Friday night and Peyton is cooking dinner earlier than usual because Lucas and Sawyer have to be at the gym at 6:30 for the 7:00 basketball game.

"Thank you for helping me," Peyton says as Sawyer takes the lasagna out of the oven.

"I don't mind," Sawyer says. She sits down at the kitchen table and taps her fingers nervously against the wood tabletop. "Look, I know I'm grounded, but tonight's the first game…"

Lucas looks up from his salad and smirks. "Yeah, I know. I _am_ the Coach."

"_Everyone's_ gonna go out and celebrate after you win," Sawyer says, trying to butter her dad up. Her voice is slightly whiny. She looks at her parents, smiling hopefully, with pleading eyes.

"I think you've learned your lesson," Lucas says, smiling slightly.

"Thank you!" Sawyer says gratefully. She gets up and hugs her dad.

"Do you think they're gonna have something to celebrate?" Peyton asks, looking at Lucas.

"The team's good, but our best player isn't a team player. He's selfish. And he has a bad attitude," Lucas says.

Sawyer frowns slightly, knowing he's talking about Eric. "Eric's not that bad," Sawyer says defensively.

"No, Sawyer, he's a jerk. I didn't even want him on the team this year. The only reason he's on the team is because Nathan thinks he can help him," Lucas says firmly.

Peyton looks at Sawyer, raising her brow. "Why are you defending him? Are you friends?"

"No," Sawyer says quickly. "I mean, yeah, I'm friends with all the basketball players. Look, I know Eric and he can be a jerk, but he can also be pretty okay."

* * *

Brooke, Julian and Sam walk into Tree Hill High gymnasium. They join Peyton, Haley and Jamie in the bleachers.

"Hey, what's going on?" Brooke says as she sits down next to Haley.

"Oh, we're just about to beat some Farmer ass," Haley says, smiling. The Ravens are playing the Farmers.

Peyton looks at Sam. "Hey. You must be Sam. I'm Peyton." Peyton holds out her hand, shaking Sam's. "This is Haley and that's Jamie."

Haley smiles. "Hi, Sam."

"Hey," Sam says, sitting next to Jamie. Sawyer's talked about him so she knows that he plays basketball at Duke. "College boy, right?"

Jamie smirks, amused by the nickname. "Orphan girl, right?"

"Sam," Sam says, helping herself to a handful of Jamie's popcorn.

"Jamie," Jamie says.

"I know. What are you doing here?" Sam asks curiously.

"I wanted to come to the first game of the season. It's not a bad drive, so I came home after practice," Jamie replies.

"Wouldn't you rather be at a frat party than hanging out with your family on a Friday night?" Sam asks.

"I'm not in a frat. And I can't stay out until 2:00 am partying every weekend. I have to focus on basketball right now," Jamie replies. He's a senior so it's his last year before the NBA draft.

"Dude, chill out. If you're as good as everyone says you are, you're gonna be fine even if you go to a party and have a little fun," Sam says, smirking.

"And you think you can show me a good time?" Jamie asks, raising his brow.

* * *

After the game, Sam and Jamie wait outside the girl's locker room for Sawyer. Sawyer walks out. She's changed out of her cheerleading uniform and is wearing a black tank top and dark wash skinny jeans. "Jamie, what are you doing here?" Sawyer asks, smiling. She hugs him. "I've missed you," Sawyer says.

"I've missed you, too. So Sam says tonight's gonna be epic," Jamie says.

"Hell yeah," Sawyer says, leading the way to her car. When they get in the car, Sam finds a song on Sawyer's iPod and turns the volume up.

Jamie groans. "What is this?" He asks.

"Death cab," Sawyer replies without looking at her iPod.

"We just won. Why are you listening to emo shit?" Jamie asks.

"Uh, because it's good," Sawyer says.

"It's depressing," Jamie says, grabbing the iPod from Sam's hands.

"Hey!" Sam protests.

Jamie just laughs as he scrolls through the songs, finally changing it to Ludacris.

* * *

When Lucas walks out of the boy's locker room, Peyton is waiting for him. She smiles. "Good game."

Lucas looks at her appreciatively. She's wearing his old Ravens jersey. "Good everything. You look hot."

"This old thing?" Peyton says, laughing.

"Yeah, but you'd look even hotter if I took it off," Lucas says. He puts his arm around Peyton, pulling her closer, and kisses her softly. "I think we should go home and have fun while Sawyer's out having fun," Lucas murmurs into Peyton's blonde curls.

* * *

Jamie, Sawyer and Sam walk into Eric's parent's beach house.

"Hey. You came," Jeff says, looking at Sam.

Sam crosses her arms in front of her. "Yeah, so what?"

Jeff smirks. "So I didn't think you would since you've been avoiding me all week."

"And you still didn't get the hint. I guess I have to spell it out for you. I don't want to talk to you," Sam says. She's been avoiding him ever since he saw the bruises on her shoulders.

"Come on. Just give me five minutes," Jeff insists.

Jamie steps forward, putting himself in between Jeff and Sam. "Hey, she said she doesn't want to talk to you."

Jeff looks at Sam, raising his eyebrows.

Sam looks at the two boys glaring at each other. They look like they're about to come to blows. She rolls her eyes. "Okay…five minutes," she agrees reluctantly, not wanting them to get in a fight.

Jamie looks like he wants to stop them, but Sawyer puts a hand on his arm. "Let her go. She's fine. He's harmless. And I need someone to play beer pong with me," Sawyer says, pulling him to the beer pong table.

"Let's go somewhere we can talk," Jeff says, grabbing Sam's hand. They go upstairs to one of the bedrooms and sit down on the bed. "Sam, I like you. You can talk to me."

"I know. I like, you, too, but I don't want to talk about this," Sam says, knowing what he wants to talk about.

"Why are you letting someone hurt you?" Jeff asks.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Sam says.

"So explain it to me," Jeff says.

"My last foster home wasn't so good. My foster dad gave me the bruises," Sam admits, looking down. Usually, if she says anything at all, she just says her foster homes weren't so good, but doesn't go into detail.

Jeff frowns. "Your last foster dad? So you're not living with him anymore?"

"No," Sam says, shaking her head.

"Okay," Jeff says, not knowing what to say.

"So what do we do now?" Sam asks. She wouldn't be surprised if she scared him off.

"What do we do now?" Jeff repeats, smiling. "Well, we can dance or we can play beer pong or we can talk. The sky is the limit."

* * *

One of the basketball players, Mike, sees Jamie and Sawyer playing beer pong together. He smirks at Eric. "Hey, man. Looks like you have some competition."

Eric shakes his head. "No. Sawyer and I are good," Eric says. But, he stares, jealous, as his girlfriend laughs with another guy.

"Then why is your girlfriend flirting with another guy in _your_ house?" Mike asks.

"She's not flirting, Mike. She's talking to him," Eric says angrily. "When she's with me, we're not gonna be talking." He smirks slightly.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Mike says.

Angry, Eric gets his cell phone out of his pocket and opens the picture Sawyer e-mailed him. "Here. You happy now?"

Mike grabs the phone. "Hey, guys, come over here!" He calls to the other basketball players.

"Mike, give that back, man. I don't want everyone looking at pictures of my girlfriend," Eric says angrily, but it's too late. His phone is being passed from basketball player to basketball player.

* * *

Jamie sees Sam and Jeff come downstairs. He looks at his watch and frowns. It's been more than five minutes. Jeff's hand is on Sam's lower back as they walk across the room. Jamie stalks after them.

"Hey, man, time's up," Jamie says firmly.

Sam smirks. "I gave him an extension."

"One minute you don't want to talk to him and the next you're attached at the hip. What's going on?" Jamie asks.

"Nothing's going on," Sam replies.

"We're cool," Jeff says, smiling at Jamie.

Jamie glares at Jeff. "No, _we're_ not. And, from what I saw earlier, you guys aren't either."

"Can I borrow you for a minute?" Sam asks, grabbing Jamie's arm and pulling him to a corner. "What are you doing?" Sam demands, embarrassed.

"What? Jamie asks innocently. "I saw how you were when that guy tried to talk to you."

Sam sighs, knowing Jamie's not going to leave her and Jeff alone until she explains. "My last foster home wasn't so good. My foster dad was drunk and he grabbed me really hard. Last time I hung out with Jeff, he saw the bruises. I've been avoiding him because I didn't want to talk about it. Jeff's nice to me. You don't need to be on guard dog duty, okay?"

Jamie swallows. "Sam, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay," Sam says quietly.

"No, it's not," Jamie says, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He wishes he could get his hands on Sam's foster dad. "When I was little, my dad got in a fight the night of the NBA draft. Instead of playing in the NBA, he was in a wheelchair. He started drinking. He never hit me, but I remember being scared of him. I was lucky. He stopped drinking. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for you."

* * *

Sawyer watches, rolling her eyes, as Jamie goes into protective mode when he sees Sam and Jeff. She's grateful that he hasn't met Eric yet. She sees Eric with the other basketball players and joins them. "Hey," Sawyer says, smiling. "What's that?" She asks, noticing the phone everyone is trying to get a look at.

"Sawyer, that's not what it looks like," Eric says as Sawyer grabs the phone.

Sawyer looks at the picture, horrified. "So you're _not_ showing all your friends this picture?" Sawyer says sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for everyone to see it," Eric says.

"Not as sorry as I am. You're an asshole, you know that," Sawyer says angrily. Embarrassed, she stalks off, wanting to get out of there as fast as she can. She finds Jamie and Sam. "Hey, you ready?" Sawyer asks. She doesn't wait for an answer. She starts walking to the door. Jamie and Sam exchange a confused glance and go after her.

"Hey, wait up. Where are you going? Come on, you can't drive. You've been drinking," Jamie says as they catch up with Sawyer.

"Sawyer, what's wrong?" Sam asks.

"I just want to get out of here," Sawyer replies.

"Okay. We don't have to stay here. We can go for a walk on the beach," Sam suggests.

Sawyer ignores their pleas, continuing to her car. She doesn't want to go for a walk on the beach. She doesn't want to risk running into anyone who saw the picture. She just wants to go home and be alone. She's never been so embarrassed in her life. She digs around in her bag for her keys.

"Sawyer, I'm serious! Give me the keys," Jamie says.

"You want the damn key? Here! You can have it!" Sawyer takes her house key off her keychain and throws it. When Jamie looks for the key in the grass, Sawyer uses her car key to unlock the car. Sawyer gets in the drivers seat. Sam hurries to get in the passenger seat, hoping she can talk Sawyer out of driving.

By the time Jamie finds the key, they're already in the car. Angry, he realizes Sawyer tricked him. He's not stupid, but he's too trusting. He watches helplessly as they drive away. "Damn it!" He yells, kicking the ground.

"Sawyer, what happened?" Sam asks.

"Eric happened," Sawyer mutters.

"Whatever he did, he's not worth it. You shouldn't be driving," Sam says.

"I e-mailed him a picture of me. I…wasn't wearing much," Sawyer says, blushing furiously. "I didn't think anyone would see it. It was just for him. Sam, he showed everyone."

Sam winces. "I'm sorry."

After they've been driving for about ten minutes, Sawyer sees a cop behind her. She's so scared she starts shaking. "I played beer pong. If he stops me, I'm gonna get a DUI. My parents are gonna kill me," Sawyer says.

When the white and blue lights start flashing, they know the cop is pulling them over. _Brooke and Julian are going to kick me out_, Sam thinks. _They'll probably kick me out for drinking whether I was the one driving or not. It doesn't matter if I take the fall for driving._

"I'll say I was driving. I won't tell. I promise. Switch seats with me," Sam says, unbuckling her seatbelt.

Sawyer hesitates. "Sam, I can't do that to you," she says uncertainly.

"It's okay. Just switch seats with me," Sam says.

"Okay," Sawyer agrees, unbuckling her seatbelt as well. "You didn't play beer pong. You didn't have as much to drink. And you said Brooke and Julian don't even care what you do. They're not really your parents," Sawyer says, trying to rationalize letting Sam take the fall. Sawyer and Sam awkwardly climb over the armrest so that Sam is in the drivers seat.

* * *

Lucas and Peyton are sitting up in bed reading when the phone rings. Peyton answers it. "Hello?" As she listens, her smile fades. After a few seconds, she hangs up. She gets out of bed and grabs her purse, starting for the door.

"Peyton, what's wrong?" Lucas asks.

"Sawyer. She's in jail. We have to go," Peyton replies.

"What?" Lucas yells, getting up and grabbing his car keys.

"I don't know, Lucas. She just said that she's in jail and we have to go get her," Peyton says, upset.

"She was grounded, Peyton. If we hadn't let her go out, this wouldn't have happened," Lucas says as he starts the car.

"We don't even know what _this_ is yet," Peyton mutters.

Lucas sighs. "Now I know how my mom felt when I called her from jail."

"Karen was a great mom and you were arrested. This isn't our fault," Peyton says, trying to convince herself as well as Lucas.

"No, you're right. It's Sawyer's," Lucas says angrily.

When they get to jail, Lucas walks up to the desk. "I'm here for my daughter, Sawyer Scott. I need someone to tell me what's happening."

* * *

When Julian and Brooke get home from the game, Julian pours two glasses of wine and they sit down on the couch.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Julian asks.

Brooke smiles. "Yeah, it was a good night. I haven't seen Jamie in awhile. I think Sam's happy."

"She likes being with you," Julian says.

"No, she likes being with us," Brooke corrects.

"You know what would make this night even better?" Julian asks, flashing his signature smirk.

Brooke smiles. "I have a few ideas." After she sets her wineglass down on the coffee table, she turns around, straddling Julian. Julian kisses her deeply. They're making out when the phone rings. Julian ends the kiss so they can answer it. Brooke looks at him, kinking her brow. "Don't," Brooke says, not wanting to stop.

Julian laughs. "We have to get it. What if it's Sam?"

Brooke answers the phone. "What?" She demands, annoyed. She slams the phone down a few seconds later, frowning. "Unbelievable!"

"What's wrong?" Julian asks, concerned.

"Our foster child is in jail. We have to go get her," Brooke mutters.

"For what?" Julian asks as he gets up.

"I don't know. She didn't say," Brooke says, walking out to the car.

When they get there, Brooke joins Lucas and Peyton while Julian arranges for Sam's bail.

"Peyton, what happened?" Brooke asks.

"They were drinking and Sam drove," Peyton replies.

"They're lucky they just got arrested. They could have died," Lucas mutters.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I had no idea Sam was this bad," Brooke says, feeling guilty for introducing Sawyer to Sam.

"Oh, Brooke, honey, you tried, but you can't help someone if they're not willing to be helped," Peyton says.

"I thought we were getting little orphan Annie and, instead of singing and dancing, we have drinking and driving," Brooke says, frustrated. "It doesn't feel like she's trying at all. I just don't think this is gonna work."

Sam and Sawyer walk out from the holding cell in time to hear everything Brooke says. Sawyer looks at Sam, feeling guilty for letting her take the fall. She never thought Brooke and Julian would kick Sam out. "We have to tell them that I was driving," Sawyer says quietly.

"Don't. Look, they're gonna kick me out for drinking whether or not I was driving. It's okay. I'm used to it," Sam says, trying not to cry.

"Sam, I'm sorry. I had no idea," Sawyer says.

"It's okay. If it's not this, it'll be something else. I screw up once and I'm gone," Sam says.

Lucas is the first to notice Sawyer and Sam. He glares at Sam. "Were you drinking tonight?" He asks quietly. Sam looks at him, not knowing what to say. "Were you? Were you drinking before you drove my daughter's car with my daughter in the car?" Lucas demands.

"I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," Sam says.

"I want you to stay away from Sawyer," Lucas says angrily.

"Dad, stop!" Sawyer yells, feeling worse every minute.

Lucas looks at Sawyer and shakes his head slightly. "No, you stop! This is incredibly bad judgment. You know better than to get in the car with someone who has been drinking."

"You could've called us," Peyton adds.

"I'm sorry," Sawyer says. She looks at her dad. "You can be mad at me. That's fine. But who my friends are is none of your business."

"That's where you're wrong. It is my business. Say goodbye to Sam, Sawyer," Lucas says firmly.

Sawyer looks back at Sam apologetically as Lucas ushers her to the door.

"We should get Sam home," Julian says quietly.

* * *

When Lucas, Peyton and Sawyer get home, Jamie is waiting on the front porch.

"Are you alright?" Jamie asks, looking at Sawyer.

Sawyer nods. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lucas looks back and forth between Jamie and Sawyer, frowning. "Wait a minute, you knew she was drinking?"

"I'm really sorry, Uncle Lucas," Jamie says.

Lucas laughs disbelievingly. "I like to think that you'll protect her, but I guess I was wrong."

"Dad, that's not fair," Sawyer protests.

"I think you should go," Lucas says, looking at Jamie.

After Jamie leaves, Lucas ushers Sawyer into the house. "Why don't you go sleep it off? We'll deal with this tomorrow," Lucas says.

* * *

Brooke and Julian don't say anything to Sam on the way home. When they walk in, Sam starts for her room, but Brooke stops her. "Don't," Brooke says sternly. Sam stops, reluctantly turning to face them. "Drinking and driving! What the hell? I let you hang out with my niece, I take you in and you make me look like an idiot!" Brooke yells.

"Maybe I'm the idiot," Sam says, feeling stupid for believing Brooke and Julian might be different from her other foster parents.

"Sam, I don't think you understand what this means. You got a DWI and you're not even twenty-one. This is going to haunt you for the rest of your life," Julian says.

"Dude, chill out. It's fine," Sam says, pretending like she doesn't care.

Brooke stares at Sam in disbelief. "Just go to your room," she says angrily.

Sam doesn't cry until she's alone in her room. She starts shoving her things into her backpack. She wants to leave before Brooke and Julian kick her out.

In the living room, Brooke and Julian sit down on the couch.

"So what do you want to do?" Julian asks.

"I don't know if we can help her anymore," Brooke says, upset.

"Brooke, she made one mistake," Julian says.

Jamie walks in without knocking. "Hey, Aunt Brooke. Julian," Jamie says as he sits down next to Brooke.

"Hey," Julian says.

"Jamie, what are you doing here? Brooke asks, looking at the clock on the cable box. "It's late."

"I know. I'm sorry," Jamie says apologetically. "Can I talk to Sam?"

Brooke bites her lip, looking torn. She can never say no to Jamie, but she knows she shouldn't let him talk to Sam. "I don't know, buddy."

"You're mad at Sam, huh?" Jamie says.

Brooke nods. "Yeah, I am," she says firmly. "I can't trust her. She's bad."

"She's not bad," Jamie says defensively. "Everyone drinks in high school." He shrugs. "I did."

"I don't know, Jamie. She was drinking and driving. She could have hurt someone. She could have hurt Sawyer," Brooke says.

Confused, Jamie stares at Brooke. "Sam didn't drive. Sawyer did," Jamie says.

"Jamie, are you sure?" Brooke asks, shocked.

Jamie nods. "Yeah."

"Thank you for coming over to check on her. We need to talk to Sam tonight. You can come back and see her tomorrow," Brooke says.

"Okay. Bye, guys," Jamie says as he gets up and walks to the door.

Brooke looks at Julian. "I was really hard on her," Brooke says, feeling guilty.

"We should probably go apologize," Julian says.

They knock on Sam's door and open it. When they walk into Sam's room, Sam is packing.

"What are you doing?" Brooke asks.

"Packing. Look, I heard you talking to Peyton and Lucas. I get it, okay? It's happened before. I know what happens next," Sam replies, looking down.

"Sam, I'm sorry," Brooke says.

"It's okay. I'm used to people giving up on me," Sam says. She looks up at Brooke, tears in her eyes. "It happens all the time. My mom gave me up when I was four. Like I said, I'm used to people giving up on me. Thanks anyway." Sam grabs her backpack and takes a step toward the door.

"Sam…" Brooke says tearfully, grabbing Sam's arm to stop her from leaving. "I know what it feels like to have parents who give up on you. I had one who ignored me and one who resented me. And, sometimes I feel like I'd have been better off if I'd never had parents at all. I don't want to make the same mistakes out parents did. I don't want you to leave."

Sam stares at Brooke, shocked. "Okay."

"Sam, did you cover for Sawyer?" Julian asks.

"I told her not to tell," Sam says, surprised.

"She didn't. Jamie did," Julian says.

"Why did you take the fall for her?" Brooke asks.

"I figured you were gonna kick me out for drinking whether or not I was driving, so I did it for Sawyer," Sam explains. She shrugs. "She was scared."

"We'e not going to ask you to leave," Brooke says. She waits for an answer, but Sam isn't even looking at her. "Okay?"

Sam finally looks up. She still has tears in her eyes. "Okay," she says, nodding.

**

* * *

A/N: Tell me what you think. Let me know if you want more Jamie. Oh, and, I hope I made it clear that Sawyer felt bad about Sam taking the fall for her. I'm definitely not trying to make either Sawyer or Sam look bad. They're both going to get into their fair share of trouble. They're just different.**


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